Crime and Justice News

Biden Campaigns on Background Checks; Senate to Hold Gun Hearing

January 26, 2013 10:18:58 am

The White House campaign to mobilize public support around its gun-control proposals began in earnest in Virginia with Vice President Biden saying, “We have an obligation to act — not wait,” the Washington Post reports. Biden focused on the proposal to require universal background checks for all gun buyers. Biden, accompanied by several Cabinet secretaries, Sen. Timothy Kaine (D-Va.) and Rep. Robert Scott (D-Va.) met with officials to led the response to the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech.

The background check plan is seek as the most likely of the President's proposals to gain bipartisan support. Biden’s visit to Richmond on Friday was the first of many trips that he and Obama are expected to make to drum up support for their gun-related agenda, which includes universal background checks for all gun buyers, tougher gun-trafficking laws and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will hold a hearing on guns Wednesday that will include National Rifle Association chief executive Wayne LaPierre and astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az.), who survived a 2011 mass shooting.